“I commend them to my people”
Going out on the night of July 15th without hesitation, Halil Kantarcı was martyred by FETÖ’s traitors, with two bullets, in Çengelköy where he resisted the coup. Halil learned about FETÖ’s coup attempt from the TV. Hearing of the raid at the Çengelköy Police Station by troops, he wanted to go out and support national will. He heard explosions from outside and didn’t want his wife Ayşe to go out, saying, “If anything is meant to happen to me, it will happen at home too. Give me your blessings,” and he kissed his children and then left his home. He was shot by Gülenist troops in Çengelköy and died a martyr at the Ümraniye Atlas Hospital.
Halil’s brother Kadir, noted that Halil fought against the parallel structure his whole life, he said that his brother’s last words were, “I love my wife and children very much. I commend them to my people.”
“At 16, he was sentenced to death”
When Halil was only 16 years old, he was arrested in Istanbul for being a member of the National Youth Foundation and allegedly assaulting and threatening taverns located in his neighborhood. He was later sentenced to death after baseless allegations and a lawless prosecution process.
Tried for the death penalty by State Security Court of that era, he denied allegations with evidence. He had been subjected to torture at the Directorate of Anti-Terror Branch for days and was tried at the State Security Court of Istanbul with five of his childhood friends. He had been in prison for nearly 10 years in the course of the trial and was finally acquitted by a judge on the understanding that he was innocent.
Halil was 36 years old and the father of 3 children: 9-year-old Ömer Tarık and Ali, and 2-year-old Zeynep.
After the funeral service, held at Fatih Mosque, Halil was buried in Çengelköy Cemetery.
An orphanage was established in Sri Lanka in the name of Martyr Halil Kantarci and as well as a preschool in the district of Üsküdar, İstanbul and an Anatolian İmam Hatip high school in Kemalpaşa, İzmir.
